While the current models in the Lotus family are getting a bit long in the tooth, the British manufacturer does continue to build class-leading sports cars. Perhaps its most impressive model is the Exige Cup 430, featured in a recent video from Top Gear.
Lotus unveiled its most hardcore road-legal Exige back in 2017 and while the car has been designed with a focus on track driving, Top Gear thought it would be a good idea to see how the car performs in a straight line. A Porsche Cayman GTS and Audi RS5 were also lined up to give the Lotus a run for its money.
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Before we go any further, however, it’s worth noting that the Exige Cup 430 is not a direct rival to either the RS5 or Cayman GTS. In fact, it costs roughly twice as much as both the Porsche and Audi and lacks many of the creature comforts you would expect for a vehicle that’s priced almost £120,000 ($156,927). While the Lotus is scant on features, it makes up for this by weighing just 1093 kg (2409 lbs), almost 400 kg (881 lbs) less than the Cayman GTS and undercutting the Audi by almost 600 kg (1322 lbs).
Powering off the line, the Audi RS5 gets a slight jump on the Lotus thanks to its quattro all-wheel drive system and automatic transmission. However, once the Lotus starts to put its power to the ground, it begins to reel in the Audi and eventually passes it just before the finish line. As for the Porsche, it was left far, far behind.
Did we learn anything new by watching this drag race? Nope, but it’s still a worthwhile way to spend a couple of minutes.